Rag Quilting Tutorial --- Part Two

Welcome to part two of my rag quilting tutorial.    If you are following along with me you should have all the pieces for your first block cut out and the individual blocks pinned together.

This week I will show you how to machine quilt the blocks.    This is done to hold all your block layers together.     If you can sew a straight line,  you can do this.
     First we will sew all the squares.    You will be sewing an X on the block by sewing from corner to corner.
It is not necessary to backstitch these seams as you will be sewing over them when the blocks are sewn together. 
The blue lines on the block indicate the sewing lines.   Sew all five of your blocks like this.

Next are the triangles.     First you will sew a line from the middle of the long side of the triangle to the point.
Then sew across the triangle as shown in the picture.    Repeat for all the triangles.

Now we need to sew the triangles together.     You should have four of each value,  dark fabric and medium fabric.   
You will be sewing a dark and medium together.

   All seam widths from now on will be 3/4 of an inch wide.  The seams will be sewn on the right side of the blocks and will be clipped into fringe.

Pin the triangles together.  The blue line indicates the stitching line.   Sew across the triangles 3/4 inch in from the edge of the fabric.   These seams I do backstitch at the beginning and end of the seam.

I always clip my seams as I sew the blocks.   Some sewers do all their clipping after the quilt is completely sewn but I feel this is the best way to do it because your seams are easier to see and your hands will thank you for breaking this very tiring job up.  
And before,  we clip the seam I want to show you the scissors I use for rag quilting.   They are special made for this purpose and they are really easy to use and easy on your hands.    I have tried other rag quilting scissors and these are my favorites.    For a part time rag quilter,  regular scissors will work just fine.    These are for someone who does a lot of rag quilting as they are pricey but worth it to save the wear and tear on your hands if you do it alot.    Joann's Fabric runs them on sale every so often for half price and that is when I bought mine.  

Okay,  now we are going to work on the triangle seam.    The first thing I do when I clip the seams is to cut a piece away from the corners.  Doing this will eliminate a lot of bulk and make it easier to sew through many layers.  Measure in 3/4 of an inch from the side.    Staying at least 1/16 inch away from your seam line,  you are going to cut that corner away.

 Repeat for the other side.

Now we will clip the seam for fringe.    You will be making approx. 1/4 inch cuts into the seam.   Make sure you stay at least 1/16 inch away from your seam line.  

Here is what your finished block will look like.

Sew the rest of the triangles together in the same way.   You will end up with four of these blocks.
Next week we will sew all the blocks together to make the first large block of our quilt.

Thanks for visiting today.   See you next week with part three.
Bette

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